Curtain or drape suspension arrangements

ABSTRACT

A rail for a curtain or drape suspension arrangement includes an element of oblong rectangular, cross-sectional shape and having a pair of slots in one of its wide faces, the slots receiving curtain gliders and providing points of attachment for support brackets. The rail also includes a member having formations to enable the member to be attached to the element to extend over the other wide face of the element and having a generally semicylindrical outer surface which is presented for view when the rail is normally installed.

O United States Patent [191 [111 3,881,218

Palmer May 6, 1975 [54] CURTAIN OR DRAPE SUSPENSION 3,342,247 9/1967 Graber 16/95 D X ARRANGEMENTS 3,346,227 10/1967 Hankin 3,521,318 7/1970 Johnson 16/93 D [75] Inventor: Christopher Steven Palmer,

Burton-on-Trent, England Primary Examiner-Richard J. Scanlan, Jr

[73] Asslgnee' grgg z gg l gkg tgg Attorney, Agent, or Firml(enway & Jenney [22] Filed: Jan. 21, 1974 Appl. No.: 434,958

Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 30, 1973 United Kingdom 4534/73 US. Cl 16/93 D; 16/87.4 R; 16/94 D; 16/95 D; 16/96 Int. Cl A47h 15/00 Field of Search l6/87.2, 87.4 R, 93 D, 16/94 D, 95 D, 96 D; 160/345 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1955 McMurray 16/87.4

[57] ABSTRACT A rail for a curtain or drape suspension arrangement includes an element of oblong rectangular, crosssectional shape and having a pair of slots in one of its wide faces, the slots receiving curtain gliders and providing points of attachment for support brackets. The rail also includes a member having formations to enable the member to be attached to the element to extend over the other wide face of the element and having a generally semi-cylindrical outer surface which is presented for view when the rail is normally installed.

10 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures CURTAIN OR DRAPE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS This invention relates to curtain or drape suspension arrangements and parts thereof.

Plastics materials have become widely used for such arrangements in recent years and this use, while providing many improvements over old arrangements, has also brought about a radical change in the design and appearance from those old arrangements which have been and still are valued for their character and ornateness. One such old arrangement comprised a rail in the form of a tube having a fluted wall. The curtain or drape was secured to rings slidable along the rail and the rail was supported at its ends by ornamental brackets, often shaped like an acorn or fir cone. The rail, rings and brackets were usually made of polished brass.

In its broadest aspect the present invention consists in a member of a rail for a curtain or drape suspension arrangement having a generally semi-cylindrical outer surface and having formations capable of engaging a curtain suspending element of the rail to locate the member on the element.

The present invention provides a curtain suspension arrangement which can be made of plastics material and which provides all the advantages inherent in the use ofthat material, and yet having an appearance similar to that of an old arrangement.

The present invention in another aspect consists in a rail for a curtain or drape suspension arrangement and including a member having a generally semi-cylindrical outer surface and formations capable of engaging a curtain suspending element of the'rail to locate the member on the element, the element being of generally oblong rectangular cross-sectional shape, disposed upright in use and formed in its one wide face with a pair of superimposed slots of T-shaped cross-section one of which iscapable of receiving and supporting curtain gliders and the other of which is capable of connection to support brackets, the member extending over the other wide face of the element and the formations including surfaces lying against and gripping the narrow faces of the element.

The present invention also consists in a curtain suspension arrangement including a rail as described in the preceding paragraph and including a curtain suspension glider having a component engaged in the slot of T-shaped cross-section in the rial and shaped to engage the slot so as to restrict pivoting movement of that component relative to the rail, the glider including a link connected at its one end to the component by means permitting the link to pivot relative to the component in a plane parallel to the one Wide face of the element of the rail, the link having at its other end means for the connection of a curtain.

In a curtain suspension arrangement including a rail according to the present invention and in which the formation having a surface lying against the upper narrow face of the element includes a portion engaging the one wide face of the element a support bracket connected to the rail may have a face towards which the one face of the element of the rail is resiliently urged to lie, the portion of the formation being engaged by that fact of the bracket and being gripped between that face and the one face of the element of the rail.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a curtain suspension arrangement according to the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a part-sectional perspective view ofa brokenaway" part of the curtain suspension arrangement illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings.

Referring to the appended drawings, a curtain rail 10 of the curtain suspension arrangement has an element 11 which is of generally oblong rectangular crosssectional shape and which is disposed substantially upright in use as illustrated in FIG. 1. In one wide face 12 of the element 11 a pair of superposed slots 13, 14 of T-shaped cross section is provided. Curtain supporting gliders 15 are received in and supported for sliding movement along the slot 13 and in the other slot 14 ends 16 of support brackets 17 for the rail are engaged, this latter slot 14 defining a locating formation .for the ends 16 of the support brackets 17.

As illustrated in FIG, 1, when the rail is secured in place for use, the one wide face 12 of the element 11 faces towards a surface to which the support brackets 17 are secured and over which the curtain or drape is to hang, and this face 12 can be considered as the rear face of the element 11 or rail as it is not normally seen, whereas the other wide face 18 of the element 11 faces away from that surface and towards the interior of a room in which the rail is employed and is considered as the front face of the element 11.

The rail 18 and mounting brackets 17 are as those described in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

A member 19 of the rail has a portion 20 of generally semitubular shape and thus the outer surface of the portion 20 is generally semi-cylindrical but is fluted. The member 19 has, extending along each of its longitudinal edges, plate shaped formations 21, 22 having surfaces arranged to lie against and to grip resiliently across the narrow faces of the element 11, so securing the member 19 with its portion 20 extending over and covering the front face 18 of the element 11. The surfaces of the formations 21, 22 grip the narrow faces of the element 11 because the member is made from a resiliently flexible material and the distance between those surfaces when the member is free of the element is smaller than the distance between the narrow faces. Thus the member is clipped onto the element. The surface of formation 21 is relieved to facilitate the surfaces of formation 21 to lie in contact with the narrow face of the element 11. The fluted surface of the member 20 faces into the interior of the room and gives the rail 10 the appearance of an old arrangement.

The member 19 is further located on the element 11 by means of portions in the form of two locating ribs 23, one at each junction between the portion 20 and one of the plate portions 21, 22 and by means of a portion formed by a lip 24 at the free edge of the plate portion 21. The ribs 23 engage the other face, the front face of the element 11 and the lip 24 engages the one face of the element 11.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 the lip 24 and rib 23 on plate portion 21 locate the upper end of the member relative to the upper end of the element 11 and the lip 24 and the rib 23 at plate portion 22 resist any tendency for the member 19 to topple off the element 11.

The end 16 of bracket 17 has a part of crescent shaped cross section which is elastically deformable and is deformed to permit the lip 24 to be disposed between the rear face 12 of the element 11 and an adjacent face of bracket 17 where it is thus resiliently gripped and the member 19 consequently is even more firmly secured to the element 11.

The curtain supporting glider has a component 25 engaged in the slot 13 of T-shaped cross section in the element 11 of the rail 10. The component includes a head portion 26 engaged in the wider part of the slot 13 to retain the glider 15 on the rail and a neck portion 27 engaged in the narrow part of the slot 13. The neck portion 27 has a generally elongate cylindrical shape so that it makes linear contact with the lower face of the slot at the narrow part of the slot so as to minimise friction. The neck portion 27 being elongate restricts pivotory movement of the component 25 relative to the rail 10 about any axis normal to the rear face 12 of the element 11. The component includes a portion 28 which is plate-like adjacent to the neck portion to which it is connected and lies against the rear face 12 of the element 11. The portion 28 of the component 25 extends in the shape of a C" around the front of the rail 10 to simulate the curtain rings of an old curtain suspension arrangement. When the component is moved along the rail it is retained substantially upright due to the engagement of the elongate neck portion 27 in the narrow part of the slot 13.

The glider includes a link 29 connected at its upper end to the component 25. At its upper end the link has an aperture 30 engaged on a stem 31 projecting from the portion 28 of the component 25 and the stem 31 has a head 32 to retain the link 29 on the component 25. At its lower end the link 29 has a hole 33 to receive a curtain hook (not shown). Thus the link 29 is permitted to pivot relative to the component 25 in a plane parallel to the rear face 12 of the element 11 so that the pulling of curtains does not tilt the component and thus cause jamming of the neck portion or head portion 26 in the slot 13.

The link 29 is disconnectible from the component 25. The aperture 30 is non circular in shape being generally oblong and the head 32 is of generally complementary shape. Normally the link depends vertically from the component, as illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings, and the aperture 30 is perpendicularly out of register with the head 32 and the link 29 is retained on the component 25, but when the link 29 is pivoted to a horizontal position the aperture 30 is in register with the head 32 and the link 29 can then be disconnected from the component 25.

The member 19 may be used in circumstances in which two lengths of such member require to be joined together. One suitable connector element (not illustrated) for such joining comprises two partcylindrical portions so arranged relative to one another and of such dimensions that one lies against the convex surface of the member 19 while the other lies against the concave surface of the member 19. The two portions are joined together by a circumferentially disposed web midway along their lengths so that the end of one length of member 19 is engaged by one end of the connector element while the end of the other length of member 19 is engaged by the other end of the element. The cylindrical outer surface of the larger part cylindri- 4 cal portion can be formed with fluting in a similar manner to that of the lengths of member 19 it joins.

A different embodiment (not illustrated) differs from that described'above only by the form of the member employed. The member in this different embodiment is of semi-cylindrical shape having a semi-cylindrical recess in the flat face to provide a substantially halftubular configuration. The internal margins of its longitudinal edges are recessed to provide inwardly directed surfaces arranged to grip resiliently across the narrow faces of the element 11 so securing the member to the element 11 to cover its front face.

1 claim:

1. A rail for a curtain or drape suspension arrangement and including a member and an element, said element being of generally oblong recetangular crosssectional shape thus having two wide faces, an upper and lower narrow face, said element being disposed upright in use, and said element being formed in its one wide face with a pair of superposed slots of T-shaped cross section one of which receives and supports curtain gliders and the other of which connects to support brackets, said member having a generally semicylindrical outer surface and extending over the other wide face of said element, formations being provided on said member and said formations being capable of engaging said element of said rail to locate said member on said element.

2. A rail according to claim 1 wherein said formations comprise surfaces lying against and gripping said upper and lower narrow faces of said element.

3. A rail according to claim 2 wherein said formation having said surface lying against said upper narrow face of said element includes a portion engaging said one wide face of said element.

4. A rail according to claim 3 wherein said formation having said surface engaging said lower narrow face of said element has a portion engaging the other wide face of said element.

5. A rail according to claim 4 wherein said formation having said surface engaging said upper narrow face has a portion engaging said other wide face of said element.

6. A rail according to claim 1 wherein said member has a generally semi-tubular shaped portion and said formations extend along longitudinal edges of said portion, said formations comprising surfaces lying against and gripping said upper and lower narrow faces of said element said member being made from a resiliently flexible material and being arranged to resiliently urge said surfaces of said formations towards each other so as to grip said narrow faces of said element.

7. A curtain suspension arrangement including a rail according to claim 1 and including a curtain suspension glider comprising a component and a link, said compo nent being engaged in said slot of T-shaped crosssection in said rail and shaped to engage said slot so as to restrict pivoting movement of said component relative to said rail, said link being connected at its one end to said component by means permitting said link to pivot relative to said component in a plane parallel to said one wide face of said element of said rail, said link having at its other end means for the connection of a curtain.

8. A curtain suspension arrangement according to claim 7 wherein the means by which said link is con-- nected to said component comprises a stem projecting from said component and engaged by an aperture in said link, a head on said stem retaining said link on said stem.

9. A curtain suspension arrangement according to claim 8 wherein said aperture is non-circular in shape and the shape of said head is complementary to that of said aperture in said link, whereby said link is normally retained on said stem by said head but is pivotable to a position in which said aperture registers with said head of said stem and said link can then be disconnected from said component.

10. A curtain suspension arrangement comprising a rail according to claim 1 wherein said formations com- 6 prise surfaces lying against and gripping said upper and lower narrow faces of said element and wherein said formation having a surface lying against said upper narrow face of said element includes a portion engaging said one wide face of said element and wherein a support bracket is connected to said rail and has a face towards which said one face of said element of said rail is resiliently urged to lie, said portion of said formation being engaged by said face of said bracket and being gripped between said face and said one face of said element of said rail. 

1. A rail for a curtain or drape suspension arrangement and including a member and an element, said element being of generally oblong recetangular cross-sectional shape thus having two wide faces, an upper and lower narrow face, said element being disposed upright in use, and said element being formed in its one wide face with a pair of superposed slots of T-shaped cross section one of which receives and supports curtain gliders and the other of which connects to support brackets, said member having a generally semi-cylindrical outer surface and extending over the other wide face of said element, formations being provided on said member and said formations being capable of engaging said element of said rail to locate said member on said element.
 2. A rail according to claim 1 wherein said formations comprise surfaces lying against and gripping said upper and lower narrow faces of said element.
 3. A rail according to claim 2 wherein said formation having said surface lying against said upper narrow face of said element includes a portion engaging said one wide face of said element.
 4. A rail according to claim 3 wherein said formation having said surface engaging said lower narrow face of said element has a portion engaging the other wide face of said element.
 5. A rail according to claim 4 wherein said formation having said surface engaging said upper narrow face has a portion engaging said other wide face of said element.
 6. A rail according to claim 1 wherein said member has a generally semi-tubular shaped portion and said formations extend along longitudinal edges of said portion, said formations comprising surfaces lying against and gripping said upper and lower narrow faces of said element said member being made from a resiliently flexible material and being arranged to resiliently urge said surfaces of said formations towards each other so as to grip said narrow faces of said element.
 7. A curtain suspension arrangement including a rail according to claim 1 and including a curtain suspension glider comprising a component and a link, said component being engaged in said slot of T-shaped cross-section in said rail and shaped to engage said slot so as to restrict pivoting movement of said component relative to said rail, said link being connected at its one end to said component by means permitting said link to pivot relative to said component in a plane parallel to said one wide face of said element of said rail, said link having at its other end means for the connection of a curtain.
 8. A curtain suspension arrangement according to claim 7 wherein the means by which said link is connected to said component comprises a stem projecting from said component and engaged by an aperture in said link, a head on said stem retaining said link on said stem.
 9. A curtain suspension arrangement according to claim 8 wherein said aperture is non-circular in shape and the shape of said head is complementary to that of said aperture in said link, whereby said link is normally retained on said stem by said head but is pivotable to a position in which said aperture registers with said head of said stem and said link can then be disconnected from said component.
 10. A curtain suspension arrangement comprising a rail according to claim 1 wherein said formations comprise surfaces lying against and gripping said upper and lower narrow faces of said element and wherein said formation having a surface lying against said upper narrow face of said element includes a portion engaging said one wide face of said element and wherein a support bracket is connected to said rail and has a face towards which said one face of said element of said rail is resiliently urged to lie, said portion of said formation being engaged by said face of said bracket and being gripped between said face and said one face of said element of said rail. 